“Maybe. It’s an idea.” Belinda had never even considered such a thing before, but she’d sometimes dreamed of being beautiful and stylish. Being able to flirt with men. Being like all the other women she’d watched all her life, who somehow knew how to attract men instinctively, who didn’t need to be taught.
Skye clapped her hands in excitement. “We can give you a makeover!”
“Only if she wants it.” It was obvious that Ria didn’t want Belinda to believe she needed to change in any way.
And Belinda appreciated it. But the truth was she wanted to change. Not entirely. Not inside. Just a little sprucing up. So she could feel better about herself. “I kind of do, if you don’t think it’s too silly. I mean, I don’t want it to be a big deal, but I could use some advice on clothes and makeup. I have no idea what I’m doing with any of that. And maybe some help with getting noticed by men.”
“We can definitely help you.” Ria was smiling broadly. “Not that we’re experts.”
“Well, you’re all better at it than I am.” All three girls were five years younger than she was, and all three were in very happy relationships. Ria and Madeline were married to good, handsome men. Ria was pregnant. Skye was engaged to another good man. Belinda didn’t envy her sister or friends, but she certainly wouldn’t mind having the chance of a relationship herself. “So if we can do it without a big production or everyone in town knowing what’s going on, then I’d appreciate any help you guys can give me.”
Skye cheered, and Madeline nodded, and Ria reached over to squeeze Belinda’s arm. “It’s a deal. Let’s find a night this week when we can all get together, and we’ll make a plan.”
BELINDA LEFT THE SHOP a few minutes later, feeling more positive about the world than when she’d entered. She didn’t mind getting help with something she was clearly not much good at. She trusted her sister, and she’d always liked Skye and Madeline. If they could help her, then she wasn’t going to turn it down.
She still lived in her parents’ old house. It was a few blocks away in a residential neighborhood close to downtown. She was walking in that direction when she saw Fitz again.
He was standing on a street corner, chatting with Ken Harley—the county’s sheriff and Madeline’s husband.
That was the thing about Fitz. Since he didn’t have a real job, he was always just hanging around, and he seemed to show up everywhere.
She waved at Ken but didn’t stop since she didn’t want to have another conversation with Fitz and ruin her newly good mood.
“Did something happen?” Fitz asked as she passed by.
She told herself not to stop. He wasn’t owed a response to the intrusive question. But she ended up halting her stride anyway. “What?” she asked with a frown. “Why do you ask that?”
“Because you look like you’re on a mission.” His blue eyes were searching her face again in the same way they had earlier. “And that always means you’re in a good mood.”
She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “I’m not on a mission.” She turned to Ken with a smile. “How are you doing today, Ken?”
“Not bad. Not bad. So you’re not on a mission?”
She made a frustrated noise. “Don’t you start too. I’m not on a mission!” It felt like this was a ridiculous argument, so she waved and kept walking.
“You shouldn’t lie to the sheriff,” Fitz called after her.
Belinda grumbled wordlessly—loud enough for him to hear her—as she kept walking away. Part of her kind of wanted to smile, but that was a part of her she didn’t indulge.
Two
THE BEST PART OF FITZ’S days in Azalea was when he ran into Belinda Phillips.
He usually saw her at least once a day since Fitz tended to hang around in the areas of Azalea where Belinda worked and lived, but he never let himself go out of his way to make it happen. Sure, he’d love to see her more often, but he was also well aware of the potential for his interest to be seen as creepy or stalker-ish. So, like everything else, he left it to chance, which made every brief encounter with her an exciting surprise.
It wasn’t like the rest of his life was bad. His days here and now were a lot better than his pre-Azalea days. He had no burdensome schedule since he only did what he wanted at any given moment. No overflowing inbox (no email at all, in fact). No family or social pressure, as he was anonymous and entirely alone. He paid his minimal rent and utilities with cash. He drove a thirty-year-old car. And he did only as many odd jobs as he needed to pay his expenses.
Otherwise, he hung out, wandered around town, and talked to people.
As far as lives went, it was a perfectly good one, free of any stress or responsibility. But seeing Belinda was his favorite thing.
On Saturday morning, Fitz was sitting on a bench in the town park, drinking coffee out of his old travel mug and wondering what she’d been up to this week. She’d seemed distracted the few times he’d run into her, and yesterday she’d been in Richmond most of the day. He’d hinted around with Ria and Jacob, hoping they’d clue him in about what she was doing there, but they hadn’t.
It was frustrating.
He usually knew what was going on in this town—and especially with Belinda—but he didn’t know right now.
She sometimes worked in Anna’s Diner in the mornings, but she hadn’t been there today when he’d stopped by. Since he had his own mug, they gave him a cup of coffee for a quarter. He’d chatted with a couple of people and waited around, but she hadn’t made an appearance. He didn’t have any jobs lined up today, so he’d left eventually, not wanting to wear out his welcome at the restaurant.
Now he was here at the park, and he still had no idea what was going on.
He told himself it didn’t matter. The point of his life in Azalea was to avoid worry, grief, or pressure. It was working for him, and he wasn’t going blow it with an irrational attachment to a woman who would never dream of seeing him as anything but an obnoxious pest. For now Fitz was allowed to enjoy watching her go through life with her focus, organization, seriousness, and generosity. And he was allowed to tease and argue with her as long as he made sure not to go too far. But eventually she’d take a new step in life. She’d move, or she’d fall in love and get married. And the best part of his days would be over.
It was fine. It was life. Change was the only thing the world would inevitably offer. He’d never expect anything else.
But he still wanted to know what had been going on with Belinda this week.
When the joyful barking of a dog distracted him, he looked over to see Matthew Jenkins, throwing a ball to his dog, Theodore. The dog was a mix—more Shepherd than anything else—and Matthew had rescued and adopted him last year. He was happy, healthy, and well-groomed now, and Fitz chuckled as he watched the animal gallop wildly after the ball, managing to catch the ball but then do a couple of awkward flips as he came to an overly abrupt stop.
“Hey!” Matthew called when he saw Fitz. He headed over to the bench.
Fitz waved back. He liked the other man and was always happy to talk to him. Plus Matthew was Madeline’s brother and Skye’s fiancé. Maybe he’d have a clue about what was going on with Belinda.